Are Expensive Facial Lotions Worth It?

Like most young ladies, I was conditioned to believe that unless facial lotion comes in a fancy little bottle with an equally fancy price tag - it probably isn't doing as good of a job as it could be. My mother had the bathroom cabinets filled with lotions and potions to the point that you couldn't find anything you were looking for. I am convinced that she has tried every product on the market from 1980 until now. There's a bottle for day, a bottle for night, one with sunblock and one without. There are a few touting all natural ingredients like something or other that comes from Italian grape-vines...even oatmeal!  It's all still there, too - despite the lack of results and also despite their expiration dates.

As a kid I hid away in the bathroom and mixed my own concoctions from the half-used bottles. I assumed if one cream did one thing and another did another thing, together they must be extra wonderful, no?

Fast forward about twenty years. After having flawless skin as a teen, at nearly thirty I suddenly starting having bouts of adult acne. I visited a dermatologist who recommended I use a good bit of lotion on my face during his prescribed Retin-A treatment. I asked what kind he recommended. His reply was very nonchalant, "Vaseline lotion products usually work really good."

My expensive-lotion-bottle dreams were shattered. "Really? I thought I would need to use a facial lotion," I replied. He then explained to me that some ingredients are indeed superior to others, but as long as it is a brand with a long standing, trusted name, and non-comedogenic, there was no need to spend a lot of money.

While walking to my car, I pondered how much I had spent [ie: wasted] over the years trying various moisturizers. I was baffled. It was a habit from mommy dearest, no doubt. There was Clinique, Philosophy, MAC, Olay, Loreal, Chanel - you name it - I was a serial moisturizer! The only one that inspired any sort of repeat purchasing was Olay's Night Cream. I used it during the day too. It just seemed to work better than the others. Regardless, I thought I would give the doc's Ph.D. a try and go for the Vaseline.

I started with Vaseline's "Aloe Fresh" because I already had a bottle, and expected to break out in a frenzy anyway the second the stuff touched my face, so what the heck! The scent was of the Cucumber/Shoe-Polish denomination, but a week later nothing had been aggravated by it so I graduated to Vaseline's Intensive Rescue (no scent, thank heavens). It came in a gigantic bottle for about six bucks. I now use it head-to-toe and am proud to says that my face is as soft as a baby's bottom (minus the rash). I'll be saving lots of cash too, thankyouverymuch.

One for me, zero for brain-washing marketing techniques, pfffft!